It's Brandon Miller's team now. That was made evident once the Charlotte Hornets traded LaMelo Ball. They doubled down with a $209 million extension, the largest deal from the 2023 class, excluding Victor Wembanyama.

Unfortunately, though, the first three games of the season didn't bear that out. The Minnesota Timberwolves were absolutely thriving with LaMelo Ball, and while the Hornets squeaked out two wins, they looked bad doing it. And Miller looked especially horrible as the first option.

He struggled mightily in the first two games of the year, averaging 12 points and shooting 24.1% from the floor (16% from three). Things got better with 34 points in game three, but he still shot 10/29 to get those points.

Finally, though, in the fourth game, a fun home victory over the Washington Wizards, Miller broke out. He scored 39 points, which is a career high. It did take him 38 shots, although he made 20 of them. That's a solid clip, but Miller could stand to get to the foul line more to improve efficiency even more.

Regardless, he took over the game and led the Hornets to a key Eastern Conference victory. It's early, but that victory has them tied for second in the East. Things finally took a step in the right direction last night, and Miller's outburst is directly tied to that.

And after the game, Moussa Diabaté opened up on Miller and how he's been since the trade and since taking over the team. Diabaté was also excellent on Monday night, scoring 11 points with 17 rebounds, three assists, three blocks, and one steal.

When asked about it, Diabaté said that one key thing has changed for Miller over the last several months: "Just understanding that it's his team now."

He continued, "That's the main thing. He got rewarded for that, and now it's his time. He wants it, and I'm very confident that he's gonna do some amazing things. What he did tonight and the other night... I trust Brandon with everything I have, and I'm gonna try to push him as much as I can."

After two games, it looked like Charlotte's extension for Miller was a little too pricey, albeit a super small sample size. After two more, things are certainly starting to turn around, and they still don't have Coby White and Kon Knueppel on the floor with him.